Dr Nick Ndebele

The preparation for this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which is set for 25 to 29 April 2023, are progressing well with both local and foreign participants showing interest in the event. This was disclosed by Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company Chief Executive officer, Dr. Nicholas Ndebele in an update that he issued last week.

“(The) preparations for the 63rd edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair… are gearing up with palpable interest from both domestic and international participants, Dr. Ndebele said.

The ZITF boss highlighted that nearly 80 percent of the available exhibition space had already been snapped up by participants in this year’s trade fair.

“Barely two months post the official launch of the marketing and promotional campaign, just under 80 percent of available space has been taken up (37,616 square metres). This compares favourably with the situation at the same time last year when 34 000 square metres had been booked,” he said.

Dr Ndebele also explained the theme under which this year’s edition is set to be held. The event is expected to be held under the theme: “Transformative Innovation, Global Competitiveness.”

“The theme recognises that the path to success for Zimbabwean companies may not necessarily lie within its borders. Today’s hyper-connected world brings with it a new era of opportunities for industrial and economic growth. In the global economy, the speed at which business takes place, or at which the economy moves, has become almost supersonic with one’s ability to compete on the global stage matched only by their ability to continuously innovate.

“The theme, therefore, rallies economic players to invest in the innovation economy as a conduit to unlocking value from the global economy. It positions ZITF as the “opportunities platform”- where visionaries can showcase their innovations (products/services/ideas) to like-minded, domestic and international value-chain actors and co-develop home-grown solutions which can competitively meet global standards,” he said.

The ZITF CEO said that participants could look forward to a productive exhibition experience, which would leave them armed with deals sealed, partnerships secured and a wealth of promising possibilities to explore.

Turning to the event’s marketing campaign, Dr Ndebele indicated that his company was approaching foreign embassies as well as local returning and prospective exhibitors. He said that the response to the sales and marketing efforts had been quite positive.

“Following the unveiling of the dates and theme at the end of last year, the company began its international participant recruitment drive, which included high-level stakeholder visits to heads of foreign diplomatic missions based in Zimbabwe to canvass for their participation in the 63rd edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

“The visits, which targeted Zimbabwe’s traditional and new trading partners, sought to invite envoys to facilitate national exhibition participation by their home countries as well as business delegations of buyers, financiers and investors to visit the show for unparalleled opportunities to interact with Zimbabwean brands, products, services and business people,” he said.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Ndebele assured stakeholders of a safe event.

“The Company would like to take this opportunity to reassure its various stakeholders of its continued commitment to ensuring that all reasonable steps will be taken to promote and maintain safe and healthy conditions for participants.

“While the pandemic appears to be under control, show organisers are remaining vigilant and keeping abreast with national and international policy briefs and advices. The company will continue to work with local and national health authorities to format the show in a manner that complies with health and safety regulations and minimises exposure risk to Covid19,” he said.